WARNINGS

* dehumanisation ('it' instead of pronouns, 'demon' in a literal sense) - Zatara

* hightened panic/anxiety, panic attack - Captain Marvel

* semi unreliable narrator - Captain Marvel

November 5

Recognized Captain Marvel 5 1

Captain Marvel flew through the halls of Mount Justice, hoping, wishing the others would be there. "You're back!" Glee and relief filled his entire being as he saw Batman and Zatara quietly arguing in the debriefing room. "Is it over? Where's the team?" He rushed forward, foregoing personal space and engulfing the two men in a bear hug, effortlessly lifting them off the ground.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Zatara pushed Marvel off of him. "What is wrong with you?" The magician growled out, glare so strong it rivaled the one Batman was sending over. "We have been trying to reach you for hours! Even Constantine answered his summons before you did!"

Marvel felt his blood run cold. Being compared to the John Constantine was never fun, but this had to be the highest level of not fun he had personally experienced. "I-I didn't-" Oh uncle Dudley was going to be so upset he messed up.

"Haven't you heard?" The man angrily sneered, hands shaking as he yelled at his colleague. "Every child in the world has dis-" Batman cut the angry Italian off with a firm hand on his shoulder. Though the two men did anything but see eye to eye at the moment, that break was what Giovanni needed to see the stress Marvel was under.

Turning his gaze to the red and white clad hero, Batman forewent his usual grit. "Captain, where have you been?" The minute change had a bigger impact than expected. Going from being on the verge of a panic attack, Marvel took a steading breath.

Well, as steadying as he could given the circumstances. Hands finding their way into his hair, he looked at the two. "In a world without grown-ups." He breathed out as the pieces finally started to click. "Oh gods, there are two worlds!"

"Two dimensions," Batman corrected, already typing away to alert the others. "One for all the adults."

"And one for kids!" Marvel finished, wisdom of Solomon slowly kicking in as he realized just how long he let his fear dominate his actions. What a hero he was turning out to be.

"Run down the steps until you got here. Tell us everything you know." Batman prompted, file already opened and ready to note down anything and everything of use.

Marvel thought for a moment, trying to think about how everything started. "Well I was on the couch watching Tv with uncle Dudley, I think. And then he just...poof." He recounted, trying hard to not mentally rewatch his uncle literally disappearing before his eyes. "It was a mix of gold and red though, the magic I mean. And there was this weird taste like breathing in really thick smog but in my mouth."

Zatara's eyes widened, surprise he hadn't noticed it himself. "Klarion." The mage hissed in displeasure at having to utter the brat's name. "But he couldn't have done this alone. Not even a lord of chaos has this much power."

Flash was the first to arrive, zooming in as Zatara was speaking. With one look from the dark knight, he knew to simply stand by for now. Batman noted everything down before giving a nod to Marvel to continue. "There was screaming from outside too. Kids calling out for their parents and the tv lady was gone too." He fought the nervous shudder that ran up his spine. "Figured if all the adults vanished, I-well, Captain Marvel, would too."

As Marvel kept explaining, retracing each step in painful detail, the other mentors slowly trickled in. Impatiently waiting for news on their kids, they listened to the only person who had even the slightest shred of information. "And then, I swear it was like the universe needed me to get the message. But I walked passed a Tv store or something and then BAM the team was on everything."

Now that immediately sparked the attention of the mentors back to life. By now all the mentors had arrived, standing around as Captain Marvel tried to ignore the intense feeling of eyes on him. "Kal did call Wally and M'gann his friends which felt a little shady because like where is Robin, you know. He's like the most known hero everywhere. I sure wouldn't like being skipped over like-"

"Marvel, focus."

"Right, right." Scratching at the back of his ear, he looked a bit ashamed he was getting off track from something so important. "Anyway then Phantom and Robin came on after them and like I have no clue what Phantom was saying, I understood maybe every 7th word but at least most of the team were safe in Mount Justice so I figured it was best to head over there rather than the Watchtower."

"Hold on now, we are not glossing over the fact that he doesn't know what Phantom said." Oliver looked annoyed as everything. How does a person who speaks near every language not understand what some asshole kid said? Wisdom of Solomon couldn't have just gone out the window for this man. "What do you mean? League broadcasting systems have auto translations cooked in there so deep it's impossible to just override."

"Shut up and let the man speak, Oliver." Barry scolded, annoyed at the archer for getting even more side tracked. He wanted this over with and he knew the others did too. The faster they got Marvel's testimony, the faster they could figure shit out and get their kids back safely in their arms.

With a pout, Oliver's mouth clicked shut. With some extra encouragement, Marvel continued to explain how he broke into the nearby airport and got a good Samaritan to fly him over to Happy Harbor. Only for the girl to vanish as the clock struck midnight on her birthday. Going further, he explained how he took the chance, transformed, saved the girl from falling to her death and flew straight here where he saw Zatara and Batman and thought it was over. Only to be told he had simply traveled between the two worlds.

"So what you're saying is that there's a plane wreck somewhere on the outskirts of Happy Harbor." Selina purred, scaring half of the group as they hadn't noticed her arrival.

"Okay, what is she doing here?" Oliver glared at the feline thorn in his side.

Barry jabbed an elbow straight between the man's ribs as Selina just enjoyed his suffering. "All mentors were called in, and unfortunately for you, she is one." Dinah supplied, fighting to keep her face neutral as she calmed her racing heart.

"None of that is important." Zatara dismissed, equally frustrated with the childish procrastinations. "Captain, are you certain you can travel between these dimensions?" He sounded so hopeful, so much like a worried father it was almost excusing his earlier outburst.

Marvel looked between his colleagues. All of them were worried about their kids, he could tell. They had that same look in their eye as uncle Dudley when he came home late from a big mission. "I'm pretty sure I can." He said, determined to be the missing key to this mess.

Batman pulled up the mission map. "When you get there, tell them Zatara located the focal point on Roanoke Island and that the likely culprit is Klarion." He listed off, not enjoying the taste the witch boy's name left in his mouth. But liking it even less that he was forcefully separated from his boys. "We won't be able to deploy the whole League as most are working on divert the chaos brought from worried parents. They must be prepared to handle any and all unknown threats on their side until we can get to them."

Marvel looked at the map before looking over the mentors once more. Some were trying to hide it, but they knew they abandoned their cities in need to come see what the fuss about their kids was about. Nobody ever liked leaving their city unattended during a crisis, certainly not one as big as this. He couldn't blame them, though. It was in their instinct, it's what made them such good heroes.

With a nod he walked an ends away from the others, just to be safe, he called out his sacred word and vanished in a bolt of lightning.

"Unknown threats," came sarcastically huffed from next to the man in charge. "The biggest threat to the children is the demon you insist on keeping around." Zatara spat, accent growing thicker with anger. "Mark my words, Batman. It was no coincidence that this happened at the same instant you made me interact with it."

Awkward tension grew among the mentors. They didn't want to mention it themselves but the timing had been painfully coincidental. They had agreed not to hover as Zatara want to observe training and right when it would finally happen, their kids vanished. The security footage was likely to haunt their nightmares for months to come.

Opting to ignore it for the time being, Arthur approached Batman. "You knew, about Marvel's true age? Is this why you sent him over with a message for the children?" The others leaned in, knowing the answer but wanting to know if he'd own up to it.

"I did." Batman confirmed with no hesitation. "But as you all should know, it is not my place to expose ones secrets if they aren't necessary." Given how oddly understandable his colleagues seemed to be for once, he felt generous enough to share some more without being forced to.

Selina staring at him had nothing to do with it.

"Captain Marvel has been a member of the Justice League for long enough, and done a less than superb job at hiding some of his tendencies that should it have been brought up, he likely would have volunteered the information himself. Not one of you ever questioned his actions before and given his connection to the supreme knowledge of the previous champions before him, I saw no reason to deprive him of his privacy."

Dinah loosely crossed her arms, thumb rubbing over her elbow. "But he is still a child, Bruce. That is something we should have known."

Batman less than subtly looked over to Zatara before answering the blonde. "I am not the only one with such knowledge. All of the higher ranking members of Dark knew as well as their ties to Marvel are infinitely stronger than ours. If they saw no need to inform others, then it was a strictly need to know base." He made a point to look between every one of his fellow heroes, some more than just colleagues, and adding a lingering glance directed at Giovanni as the man should have known as well. "Not everybody is as comfortable with their identities known."

"You've been funding him, haven't you?" Barry asked, already knowing where this was going. Bruce always had a soft spot for all the kids he came in contact with. It wouldn't be the first time he offered to fund a celebration for Wally given speedster metabolisms. Hell, he even made sure Barry had his own knock-off black card with Wayne funds on there just to make sure the man himself and Wally had enough to eat without raising suspicions. He could only imagine just how many others he was secretly helping behind the scenes.

Before Batman could confirm anything, a bolt of lightning cut though the tension. Marvel stood before them once more, giddier than ever. "Heck yeah it works!" He exclaimed happily. "Okay so, the team's doing fine. They figured out it's Roanoke too. Zatanna did the spell." Bouncing on his toes from excitement he missed how the color drained from Zatara's face.

The man knew his daughter had not received proper combat training yet, hell, he barely wanted her trained beyond having proper control to avoid accidents. But being able to perform a spell like that? One that would require years more experience than she had? It made him worried for her safety. Worried for what power she could very well poses.

Locking eyes with Dinah, he knew the woman understood his turmoil. Perhaps she had been right in encouraging her to start proper training. Perhaps, though he didn't want to admit it, he was too blinded from the truth after losing his carissima. But how could he not? Zatanna looked just like her and he wasn't ready to risk losing the only thing of her he had left.

"Phantom doesn't go."

His voice cut through the chitter of mentors asking Marvel about the kids. The room fell silent as they had been forced to remember exactly who was standing on the other side of the veil.

Batman glared at the Italian, but he stood steadfast. "Phantom doesn't go. We agreed the team is suspended until we come to a unanimous decision. This does not change that." Though it wasn't really thought to be a point of debate, the hushed chatter confirmed he wasn't the only to think a certain boy should stay behind.

"Phantom is part of the team, as you all demanded he be. They all go, this isn't up for discussion." Batman didn't glare, didn't even squint at the other heroes. No bite nor growl beyond the usual gruff. "Phantom is the strongest on the team. The best asset against somebody as Klarion."

"Giovanni," Selina calmly called the man's name. She knew he had the biggest influence regarding her boys in the room. "I know you are worried about your daughter, and that you don't want to lose her. But sending her out against that Klarion person you mentioned, on her own, seems exactly like that's what will happen."

Dinah stepped to the side to let Selina properly enter the circle of discussion, much to Oliver's grumbling. "I may not know your girl, but I know my boys. And I know they'll go to hell and back to make sure she'll stay safe."

"Wally may be an idiot sometimes." Barry added, hand dragging over his face as he thought over just how openly hostile the boy had been. It was his own fault too, thinking he was mature enough to handle the League chatter. Clearly neither of them had learned much from what happened with Roy, and that was his mistake. "But the kid's got the heart for heroics. I didn't want him to be like me either, and not guiding him properly is what led him to recreate my accident. I know they're not the same kid, but at least learn from my mistakes and support her before she goes out and does something stupid."

"Kaldur'ahm still has a lot to learn as well, but he too stepped up when the need arose. Your child, as well as both of Batman's, have proven they will do so as well when Tornado required assistance." Arthur looked between Selina and Zatara before finally landing on Batman. "You have my support in sending Phantom on this mission."

"I have made myself clear when we first discussed this. And I still stand by what I said. Phantom has my full trust and I am prepared to shoulder any responsibility that comes from my choice." J'onn spoke, breaking his silence as he watched his friends finally opt for the correct direction. He never quite enjoyed speaking during tense times as he had yet to fully master the working of human languages. Nevertheless, when it felt like his opinion was needed, he would make certain it was heard.

With a not so unanimous majority reached, Captain Marvel left once more to deliver the verdict to the team.

"What do you propose we do, then?" Zatara spoke up, somewhat annoyed his vote was overturned but he could see where the others came from. "Say we are able to trust the ghost, there is no saying just how badly having it go against a lord of chaos such as Klarion could end. It may be on our side for now, as you say, but the witch boy knows how to tempt it, just like it has done before."

"Well the same could be said about Conner." Selina argued back while shooting a glare at Dinah, not enjoying she has to throw the poor boy under the bus. "He was made to destroy and replace Clark, yet we trust him with no issue to be on missions with the others."

"That's not the same." Oliver groaned, whispers of a discussion repeated a million times behind the rumble of his voice. "We know where Conner came from, how his powers work, same with how we know where M'gann came from even though she followed J'onn over. But we don't know where this kid came from because spooky over here doesn't want to show and tell."

"Just like how you did show and tell with your 'niece' that none of us heard about." Barry physically air quoted just to drive his point home. They had known each other for way too long, spent too many holidays together for a niece to drop out of thin air like Artemis did. Of course, that wasn't something the man wanted to admit to as he knew full and well how hypocritical he'd sound.

Arthur clasped a firm hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Where one comes from has nothing of importance to a person's character. It is how they act in life, or death, and who they bloom into that matters more than the roots from which they grew." It was hard to argue against the man when he sounded like he was bestowing the wisdom of a nation onto another.

Oliver actually looked like he was starting to come to terms with Arthur's logic when Marvel came back. Worried glances between his colleagues, he refused to look at either Batman or Catwoman.

"Well?" Zatara prompted, but the not-quite-man remained quiet. A half mumble fluttered out but was anything but legible, much to the man's annoyance. "For goodness sake, Captain, spit it out!"

Under the pressure of 7 sets of eyes, some a lot more intimidating than others, Captain Marvel felt corned. From worried looks to Catwoman's empathic gaze, he felt like he was boxed in. Throat closing up and lungs refusing to expand any more, he blurted out what he just witnessed. "ROBIN THREATENED TO QUIT THE TEAM IF THEY DIDN'T LET PHANTOM COME ALONG!"

"I thought we said to tell them Batman said so!" Panic started to rise among them as they never expected they would risk losing their favorite child. Sure, they were the ones to put sanctions on both him and Phantom, but they never thought Robin would leave the team he himself founded.

Just what was this boy to him?

Billy reached for his hair once again, fingers nearly getting tangled as he paced. "I did!" He cried out, panic obvious as he wasn't prepared to handle an argument this bad between people older than himself. "They didn't care. They said Kaldur is the leader so he decides if Phantom goes or not. And they were already fighting about not wanting Phantom there because they don't trust him since he let everybody die so Robin just-he just."

"Breathe, Captain. Breathe." Dinah crossed the floor in an instant, "In and out, just like that." She guided the panicking hero out of his panic attack as the chatter among the others lost any chill it had gained moments before.

"Exactly what is going on there?" Arthur questioned. J'onn aided in reaching into Marvel's mind and distributing the memories of the children's side to the others. With some more coaxing from Dinah, Marvel took a deep breath and returned to the team.

"Exactly what anybody could have predicted would happen." Selina butt in, arms crossed as her clawed gloves dug into her bicep. "You spend weeks sowing mistrust in children whose brains are anything but matured enough to handle making up their own minds on something as unexpected as my boys." She circled away from the panicking hero, not wanting to aim her anger at him. "And now you stand here surprised that that same mistrust is causing teamwork dynamic issues? No wonder you all hold Batman in such high regard. Even a simple connect the dots puzzle might be too difficult for you."

"That isn't fair, Selina." Barry tried to refute, taking mild offence to her bait. "You weren't there. Everything was going wrong at once and Batman did nothing to help anybody but himself. What else were we supposed to do but mistrust when secrets like that were being kept from us?" He still felt discomfort where the bit of his skin pulled just a little tighter than the rest. Even if the balm Phantom gave him made the necrosis vanish within hours, the healing still took painfully long by his standard.

Unlike Batman who would usually go for a more covertly threatening vibe, Selina made herself out to be the easy target, sultry walking over to the man. Trailing fingers over the outline of the man's muscles, she leaned onto his shoulder. "Maybe, and this is just a thought," she purred out, drawing circles so slowly it was putting the speedster on edge and not in the fun way.

"You could have been more thoughtful and left the adult issues up to the adults. Discouraged obvious anger growing by the day and talked to your boy before he started destroying his own closest bonds over something you once again failed to guide him through." Both her words and nails dug deep, adding to the already dismal feeling Barry had over his own involvement in this. "Or was watching him try to copy you into his own accident a few years back not enough?"

Barry's breath caught in his throat, the reminder and the stabbing of her claws digging deeper than he had liked given the current circumstances.

"Lay off him, Selina." But the woman didn't react. "Bruce?" Oliver asked exasperated, as if Bruce had any control over what a grown woman such as Selina choses to do.

Though maybe drawing blood wasn't quite helpful to the cause. With a look, Selina backed away from Barry.

"Hey guys? Can we like figure out how to send somebody else there?" Marvel nervously looked between the bickering adults, sweat breaking away from his forehead as it slowly became too much for just one person to handle. "They're fighting again, like really fighting and I thought Robin was scary but then Phantom just absolutely lost it and I think Conner tried to step in but he couldn't do much because Phantom looked like he could just pushed him aside like an old sock you don't want to pick up off the floor and- please don't make me go back while they're like this."

Marvel looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown, tears threatening to spill as for the first time to most in the group, his age showed clearly.

"I told you having that thing there would only cause issues." Zatara started up again, ignoring the discussion they had just a few moments ago once more. "How much will it take for you to finally believe me? See that it is a danger to the children."

"That is enough." Batman finally spoke. Not angry or demanding. Just one single order to quiet the room to a still, save for Marvel's desperate breaths. "As I said before, this is not up for discussion. As Green Arrow set precedent with Red Arrow and Artemis, Phantom is part of the team as per League decision. As such, going on this mission is as much his mission as it is ours. If you have any further objections, see to it that they're brought up in the next League meeting when we are not at crisis."

When nobody dared speak again, he gave them one last order before taking Marvel to a separate room alongside Selina and Dinah. "You are dismissed until we receive word from the team. Canary, Flash, Manhunter, return to your cities. Aquaman, Zatara, Arrow, be on standby. Make sure you are adequately prepared for mystical opponents." With a whisk of his cape, they all reluctantly scattered to their own objectives, anxious to get back to their kids but forced into patience.

RECAP

* captain marvel arrives at mount justice, sees batman and zatara and is elated to see them again

* Zatara is mad bc Marvel hadn't responded to his summons for so long even Constantine answered before him

* Marvel and Batman figure out there are two dimensions, one for kids and one for adults, and that Klarion is behind it with some help of unknowns

* all other mentors arrive while they are discussing things

* Batman sends Marvel over to the kid side to inform them of what the adults know while Zatara gets bitchy about the "unknowns"

* mentors upset once again that batman kept important secrets (billy's true age) but batman counters he wasnt the only one who knew so they cant be mad at him when marvel would have volunteered if anybody pointed out his clearly not adult/mature behaviors

* not so unanimously agree to let Phantom on the mission, despite the pushback from zatara

* Marvel returns and is stressed because Robin threatened to quit the team

* they make Marvel return while they squabble among each other about how it could have gotten this out of hand

* Selina makes a jab at Barry for not guiding Wally like he should have and letting him get involved with adult things, getting a repeat of when Wally recreated Barry's accident so he could be just like him

* marvel returns once more and nearly breaks down as he informs them that phantom too threatened to quit and that he looked scary as he was yelling at everybody, saying he doesnt want to go back when they're being like this

* batman descides barry, dinah and j'onn (and selina) are to return to their cities while he, oliver, arthur and zatara prepare for the upcoming battle before pulling a stressed out captain marvel to a quiet room to decompress